In discussing it with a few of our group, and judging by the delight in getting together that seems evident from the logs, I think that it would be good to plan a regular meeting date where we can talk, have a drink, and drop off/trade bugs, etc.

The questions to be answered are:

Location. What part of town? Is there a specific place that we all could love and they might like to have us there once a month (discounts for word-of-mouth advertizing, etc.) What part of town would be best for everyone? Personally I think that a nice, cheap, friendly, small place would be best. (So they appreciate the business and give us the best seats!) I think a "Santa Lucia-type" place would be right, but they have just a restaurant, no lounge. It might be nice in the summer, though - there's a patio. Thoughts on this?

Day of the week? I think that Sunday evening from 7 - 10pm might have the best chance of not interfering with weekly schedules. But. . . let me know if you feel there is a better time. Last Sunday of the month? First? Whatever.

Who will plan it? Once the first one has been decided, and a place has been identified (and the restaurant welcomes us!) there shouldn't be much work. I would think that the best plan would be for one person (group?) to plan it for one month, then hand it off to the next person. If you'd like to be one of the people to write the log/plan it, let me know. I (and Lizardo) will take the bull by the horns, and set up the first one, but then, it should be a group effort.

So, the planning happens here. Please write your suggestions and thoughts, and anyone who doesn't choose to add their two cents, won't be able to complain later! Haha!

I think a monthly get together is a great idea. I had already been in the early stages of planning for a February get together around Valentine's Day and would be more than happy to go ahead and plan that unless somebody else wants to. The same place would be good too then there's no major planning involved. Sunday nights don't work for me in the winter, but there's no saying I have to come to every single event. Would be more than happy to add more input and help out with the planning if needed.

As far as location goes, we'll I always lean towards the south...but something central would be good. For the Feb event, I was thinking Garbonzo's on Pembina for their wing night (I think its a Tuesday, not sure on that) as they have a back room which we could use exclusively if we have enough people and I'm pretty sure the tables could be arranged beforehand. But I'm open to suggestions. Post away...

Since there hasn't been a flood of responses, maybe just answer with "I am interested in a monthly get-together" or "I'm not interested". It's a lot of work to put this together, and I'll enjoy doing it if there is someone willing to attend.

Since there hasn't been a flood of responses, maybe just answer with "I am interested in a monthly get-together" or "I'm not interested". It's a lot of work to put this together, and I'll enjoy doing it if there is someone willing to attend.

I'm in. I suspect you'll get a lot of people who will show up without an RSVP, even if you post it as an event cache, though.

Any place with room and decent coffee. Actually that first ever place we met in that church basement was good and we just gave a donation. Above ground is good to but we thought it was a good place to meet and visit - a Legion hall or something like that would be good and we could bring our own drinks too!

If you go with monthly events, there would be no room for association events to be scheduled (this includes meetings). Or, if someone wants to schedule a personal event. I'm assuming that having multiple events in a month would be too hard for people to attend.

Also, speaking from experience, it's a pain in the butt to organize these things, so you may not want to have them bunched together.

I'm with the queen on the church basement idea for a group meeting,large enough and yet private for our group to get together,and yet with a few dollar donation ,our money goes to a good cause as well, why if the MBGA were to set up say a event every two months as a get together and hold their assosiation meetings there as well then all members could have a say right there, on what ever upcoming topics would be then still give them a full month to carry out usual business,,every two months would not be hard to handle,cachers bring snack food or drinks ,after all its just a get together not a supper, i think we all need to be reminded that caching is a family activity therefore a place should accommodate kids as well,,if enough kids show up maybe there could a junior MBGA set up as well ,where they can have some input about caches and caching. going to a sport bar or expensive restaurant doesn't work for my kid or budget.having door prises would be cool and a encentive for new cachers to show up,this i think should be decided or brought up in conjuction with our MBGA ,thats what we have it for,. agian my view,.

I've just spoken to Tobey and we've got it (mostly) figured out. I hold keys at our church - Fort Garry United at 800 Point Road. We're going to hold our event there, at 7:00 pm, on a date that will be available in the very near future. We're going to check availabilities of some people and the location, and Tobey will be posting an event cache on the Geocaching website in the very near future. We're going to have it be a potluck appetizer or dessert thing (you should see what I can do with CAKE!), with coffee provided. If you'd prefer a different drink, bring it along (no alcohol, though, no license!) There's going to have to be a bit of money collected to pay for the room useage and coffee, but we'll figure that out closer to the date, based on the number of people attending. For sure, it will be a whole lot less than we would have had to pay at a restaurant! So keep an eye out for the "cache" in the very near future. Lizardo and I are looking forward to sharing our winter experiences. See you there!

At this point, the Mrs. & I will be attending ( I thought somewhere I saw Feb 19 ). I agree with polarbeardiggers idea that this sort of event is a good informal forum to keep the MGCA active on a continuing basis. And cheescake never hurts!

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